Musoma Soccer Insanity

While the eyes of the world were riveted on the games of the World Cup, here in Musoma we had another soccer game with high stakes and emotions: the Weupe Stars versus Wabongo. You’ve never heard of these teams? Let me give a brief history:

Every Sunday, a group of us get together for a friendly soccer match, mostly missionaries. This is low-key soccer with plenty of breaks. Some are quite good, others not so much, but we all have a good time playing. Even I have learned to love the sport again after so many years away (haven’t played since high school). I also discovered that I play exactly the same way as I did when I was 10, aggressively and with minimal skill. This means every Sunday I get injured in some way (anyone who wants to send shin guards, knee pads, or cleats you are very welcome).

Anyways, getting to the main point, some of our Tanzanian colleagues at the office had been giving Michael, a missionary here, endless amounts of grief about how we would get whooped in a game versus the Tanzanians. So Michael decided we should take them on, and we did. The date was set for the big game.

The week preceding the match was filled with trash talk and hilarity. One of the translators informed me that if I was in goal, he would score 10 goals against me.

Last Friday the day of the big game arrived; you could smell the excitement in the air at the office. During chai time our team even had a secret strategy planning meeting complete with a chart of the field. At 3:30, we all headed over to the field (aka Michael’s front yard, which he has actually done up very nicely. It’s probably the nicest pitch in Musoma). It was beautifully mowed with center line, penalty boxes and everything.

Everyone from the office came out for the game, wives and kids too. Mama Vanessa, Alison, and Rukia all painted their faces half white and half black, or at least they tried to (see pictures below), in order to demonstrate their support of both teams. Kelly made signs out of a box for the 2 teams "Wabongo" and "Weusi Stars." Others made signs of support as well. Mama Sophia (who works for Michael and Kelly) made horns from a papaya tree and stuck leaves in her hair. Kateti, our partnership officer, was our self-appointed referee. He had a whistle as well as a yellow card and red card in his pocket.

To begin the game, we lined up and entered the field. The ref invited up the special guest (our team leader’s wife, Chris) to start off the game. She said a few words and greeted us all. Then the real insanity ensued.

The game was crazy, partly because people I usually see in work clothes were wearing athletic gear, or the Tanzanian version of it in some cases. Please look at the pics below for an amazing jogging suit as well as the purple pants/sweater vest combo. I played in goal the whole time wore goalie gloves, which I loved. The Weupe Stars scored 3 pretty quickly, but after that it was a pretty even match. Wabongo had much better ball handling skills over all, but we still held our own. As goalie, yes I did let a few in, but I stopped way more than I let through. The crowd was wildly impressed (partly because I was also the only girl on the field). I did smack quite a few away, sometimes one after another. One of the translators told me I was very “kali” (fierce). And that was even before I dramatically threw my body between his foot and the ball when he was about to score. Scared him a bit I think. But I must say, even today I’ve had people at the office coming up to me and telling me what a good keeper I am. I’ve earned some new respect here, as well as bruises on my knees.J

Anyways, toward the end Wabongo totally dominated and our defense couldn't hold them off. Still, the game ended a 5-5 draw, and I think everyone was really satisfied with that. So, all said and done, it was a lot of fun, and I think did a lot for good old team spirit, all the way around. Chris presented both teams with a trophy cup (some kind of glass wrapped in foil) and there's a pic of everyone "holding" it. I almost blacked out from the stench when everyone raised their arms to get a hand on it.

Now that was a fantastic day, probably one of the best I remember here. Everyone was really happy, and I'm actually still smiling about it 3 days later. I think one fun game like that does more for team unity than endless hours of “team building” activities. And yes, there has indeed been talk of a rematch.

Teams lining up before the game

Mama Sophia in cheer gear

Adoring Fans

Happy Goalie

Referee Kateti

Dunno who these people are, but they wanted to watch

Samson and his mad ball skills

One happy Futakamba

Getting ready for the game

Chris and Tirzah practicing their cheers

Wanse in shorts

Head in the game

Our white/black cheer squad

The Mgeni Maalum presents the trophy

The Shared Victory